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Strike threat, WGA return buoy TV, film prod'n in Q2

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Fear of a SAG strike and the end of the 100-day WGA strike prompted a 26% jump in on-location filming throughout the area in the second quarter, permit agency FilmL.A. said Thursday.

In total, the nonprofit group marked 17,375 days of on-location production, or the busiest quarter ever recorded for the region, the quasipublic agency said.

"In a normal year, the second quarter is slow for television because many productions are out on hiatus," FilmL.A. spokesman Todd Lindgren said. "This year, in reaction to past and possible labor actions, production companies have skipped, shortened or shifted their breaks, and that has helped send our quarterly numbers skyward."

FilmL.A. said the busy second quarter "reveals the influence of the 100-day Writers Guild strike as well as the uncertainty surrounding contract negotiations for Hollywood actors."

TV shoots showed the biggest impact from the labor-related acceleration in production schedules, at 57%. Production leaped 85% year-over-year for TV dramas to a total of 2,193 days, 72% for reality series to 4,267 days, 24% for pilots to 380 days and 7% for sitcoms to 544 days.

Feature film production increased 9% year-over-year for a total of 2,746 days for the quarter.